August Days: Irish cricket has undergone a remarkable change - from garrison game to a thriving multinational sport, writes Iva Pocock

"What's the bowler's name?" shouts the scoretaker sitting outside the clubhouse of Railway Union Cricket Club on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

"Mohammad," comes the reply across the pitch where the home team are fielding against Old Belvedere.

The bowler's team mates on the day include Mustafa Shuja, from Pakistan, who is playing in his second season for the home club, and Irishman Rangan Arulchelvan, formerly from Sri Lanka, who has been living here for 25 years. In all there are about 10 Pakistanis and Indians playing for Railway Union in Co Dublin.

They represent the recent sea change in Irish men's cricket as immigrants from cricket-playing nations - South Africa, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand - have brought their love of cricket, and their skill, to Irish clubs. The result is a significant boost in the numbers playing, as well as an undisputed improvement in the standard of cricket.

"Cricket has grown hugely in recent years," says Fergus Carroll, PRO of the Leinster Cricket Union. "The overseas players have absolutely increased the standard of club cricket, particularly the batting. It has gone way higher."

In North Kildare club, about half of the 60-strong membership are from foreign cricket-playing countries and in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, the local team is made up entirely of Pakistani immigrants, many of whom initially moved here to work in local meat factories.

Former team coach and manager, Mohammad Gulzar, who came to Ballyhaunis 20 years ago to work in a Halal slaughterhouse, now Dawn Meats, says that despite the club's recent beginnings in 1999 "we still know how to play the game from when we were students". To date only one local has come forward to play for Ballyhaunis. "We are looking for local players," says Gulzar.

Ballyhaunis have beaten their nearest competitors - Athlone, Castlebar and Galway, to claim the Connacht championship and last year won the Midland League Cup. "Cricket has much improved in the west of Ireland since we were established," claims Gulzar.

Back in Dublin, the Civil Service club in the Phoenix Park has been saved from "extinction" by the arrival of new foreign members says the club's groundsman, Joe Brady.

"In the last two seasons loads of people have joined who just happened to be walking past, particularly Indians and Pakistanis," explains fellow member, South African Richard Greyling. "Cricket's like a religion for them."

After moving here three years ago he was surprised to discover that his flatmate played cricket for the club. Founded in 1863, Civil Service is the second oldest in the country.

"I love it. As long as we get sunshine on the match days it's really wonderful," he says. With expansive views of the Dublin Mountains, the Obelisk and the evening sun reflecting off the nearby beech trees, it's hard to disagree.

Enjoying the post-match ambiance is Ozzy D'souza, originally from Bombay, but living in "Costa del Finglas" for the past 12 years. "I was the first Indian to join in 1993," he says proudly.

There are now about 20 Asian players from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the club, which only has some 50 players.

One of them, Urvin Desai from India, who is working here with an IT security company, is captain of the first team. In the past few years he's seen the game go "up a few notches" in standard, thanks to lots of funding from the Irish Cricket Union and the influx of foreign players.

Civil Service's opponents on the day are a small Co Meath club, Knockarley, which counts three English, two Australians, two Pakistanis, one South African and one Indian among its membership.

Club member Mervyn Whaley, from Kells, who has been playing for 50 years ("I can't give it up. It's like a drug!") agrees that the arrival of many overseas players has upped the standard and the strength of the game. "Without the overseas players we'd be struggling. Two county clubs in Fingal and Laois folded last year but we've actually improved our position."

Two of the club's new players are Pakistani brothers Hamad and Jawad Syed, who have both started playing a lot since coming to Ireland. "I love cricket," says 16-year-old Jawad, who is off to play a match for the first team in Wexford the next day.

One of the challenges of the Irish Cricket Union is to keep the young players who have been introduced to the sport through the work of Cricket development officer, Brían O'Rourke. Employed by the Leinster branch of the ICU, he has visited about 70 schools over the past five years as part of an ambitious development programme.

Quick cricket, an Australian adaptation which, as the name suggests, doesn't take days to play, is his chosen means of giving primary school pupils a chance to "get a bat in their hands". Equipment is provided for the national schools to allow them play in the school yard.

While only a small percentage of the children O'Rourke has spoken to are likely to continue to play, he's developed a lot of school club links. His work has helped "bring cricket to primary schools in areas where it would have been looked down on as a real rich man's sport", says Geraldine Banks, president of the Pembroke club.

"It has always been seen as the reserve of the elite because it tended to be the Protestant fee-paying schools that played it. That's changing as schools such as CBS, CBC and St Joseph's, who would never before have thought of it, are playing," she says.

Brian Brennan, who has been playing with Civil Service since 1975, testifies to the "garrison-game" mentality which existed when he was a schoolboy at Synge Street, a GAA stronghold. He used to play with mates who were members of the CYM club in Terenure. "My school didn't play cricket and we didn't tell our teachers, of course. If they had known we'd probably have been thrown out," he says. Joe Brady, also playing with Civil Service, says: "I was brought up on GAA. Cricket was considered a game for the West Brits and pansies! If you'd have said I'd end up playing cricket I'd have laughed."

He now considers cricket the second best game in the world - after hurling. If Ireland's recent international victories continue it's likely that interest in the game will grow. After all there's nothing like success for cultivating supporters. "There are high hopes that for the first time we will make it into the World Cup after the qualifiers which will be played here next year," says Carroll.

Veteran player and Pembroke member, Ray Moulton, is one of the hopefuls. "I predict we'll get into the World Cup because we've been doing a bit of a Jack Charlton, selecting people of Irish origin, or those who've been living here more than five years."

He lists off players such as Nazeer Shoukat from Pakistan, Andre Botha from South Africa and Jeremy Bray from Australia, who've been key to recent successes, while stressing that we have some "very good Irish players".

One teenager who hopes to soon join their ranks is 15-year-old Garreth Warner, who plays for Knockarley. He's already notched up one international cap, playing for the South African Under 13s. His ambition now is to play for Ireland. Such is the transforming face of Irish cricket!